The problem with regular lasagna is that it’s heav-v-y-y. Meat and cheese and carbs and sometimes egg—it adds up to a gut bomb. Makes perfect sense if you live in Cleveland and spent the day shoveling the driveway in zero degree weather. But it’s not what comes to mind when you’ve just enjoyed a sunny, bracing day on the Central Coast of California.
So this lasagna version is first of all, light. Second, it reflects my personal preference for a noodle rich lasagna with lots of appropriately coated, melt in the mouth, fine pasta noodles. Third, an innovation is to use a deep glass bread pan, not the standard shallow baking dish. Fourth, a key step is to lose the ricotta and mozzarella. The low fat version of Ricotta has no taste, and no version of mozzarella adds much taste. All they bring to the party is heaviness and calories.
Fifth, lasagna is ideally suited for a two night meal. Sometimes the leftovers taste better than the initial servings. Lasagna is like that.
Sixth, I’m generally cooking this dish for the family on one of my work days. Target prep time is about an hour, plus about an hour to bake (which gives me time for my afternoon exercise). That’s why it’s sized to yield leftovers when served to a family of four modest eaters (or 2-3 hearty eaters). I don’t want to have to cook again tomorrow.
Finally, this recipe ignores purism, authenticity, or fidelity to any ethnic or culinary tradition. If you are Italian, with a mama who knew how to cook the real thing, you’re entitled to high dudgeon and the indignant retort that ’You can’t call this lasagna, it’s just some freaky noodle concoction.” Whatever. It tastes good, and as important, can be made every month, month after month, and give satisfaction.
Ingredients
| One box no boil lasagna noodle sheets | Fresh, if you can find them; but no boil is the key, and departing from the traditional, wavy-edged noodles |
| 8 oz
|
Mushrooms of your choice (baby porta bella in my case) |
| 12-16 oz
(one bunch) |
Asparagus (alternative: haricots vert or other thin green bean) |
| 1 | Yellow onion |
| 1 1b | Seafood of your choice. Fresh halibut is particularly good; fresh ahi tuna will work; shrimp is probably my second favorite. Based on experimentation, crab and salmon DO NOT work in this dish.
Note: one way to keep the family happy, as you cook this month after month, is to vary the featured ingredient, using halibut on one execution, shrimp on the next; asparagus, here, green beans there |
| 1 jar (16 oz) | Seek out a flavorful jar of tomato sauce, one with some bite and a kick. I generally favor an arrabiata: Trader Joes has a good one, also Newman’s Own, also Rao’s. Some experimentation is in order if you choose to customize this dish. I haven’t had much luck with plain tomato sauce or diced tomatoes plus flavors; and in any case, if you insist on making your own sauce from scratch, this meal is gonna take more than one hour to prep. |
| 4 oz (4- 8 thin slices about 6 inches long and 2 inches wide) | Smoked cheddar or other smoked cheese of your choosing |
| A few ounces or several tablespoons | Grated cheese mix. Jalapeno jack cheese adds zing. |
| 2 tablespoons | Grated parmesan |
| ¼ cup | Olive oil |
| To taste | Garlic of some kind |
| To taste | salt |
| To taste | Black pepper |
| 1 tblsp | oregano |
| 1 tblsp | Chopped basil |
| Optional ingredients(see ‘variations’ below) | |
| bunch | cilantro |
| 8 oz | Black beans |
| 6 oz | Chipotle salsa |
| Meatballs or sausage | Cut them into little disks and spread them as one of the layers (step #4 below). Not so light, once you go this route; but hey, it gets cold in California too. |
Instructions:
- Sautee the onions and any other vegetables on medium heat until the onions are translucent.
- Pour in the tomato sauce and leave on heat until the sauce begins to boil; then turn off.
- Oil the bottom of bread pans; place a lasagna sheet on the bottom, breaking off the corners as need be, to fit
- Use a serving spoon to add the thinnest possible layer of sauce, then stud surface with protein of choice, and then add first cheese.
- Repeat step #4. I can generally fit 4, maybe 5 sheets of lasagna noodles.
- On the top layer, I use only tomato sauce, then shredded cheese, with parmesan, and sprinkled with oregano and basil.
- Repeat for the second bread pan (a full jar of sauce will make two pans)
- Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for about an hour. Let sit for 10 minutes, cut into rectangles and serve.
- Refrigerated leftovers can be microwaved
Notes
- Yes, these instructions are fairly vague. Do it your own way, and do it differently each time. That adds variety. You are cooking for a family, man.
- Options: beans (heavier); roasted red peppers crushed into sauce (lighter still); different vegetables; different cheeses (milder cheeses, and less cheese, make for a lighter dish); different proteins; different bottled sauces. Variety boosts taste.
- Because you have enough sauce for two pans, you can put meat in one and not the other, or try different proteins. No need to pre-cook the fish; time in the oven will do that.